Creole cuisines in the Seychelles

The mesmerising islands of the Seychelles is ideally located in the Indian Ocean. It is an archipelagos of 115 islands. The Seychelles is known for its wonderful beaches, its exceptional beauty, and the other main reasons why the Seychelles attracts a large number of tourist is because of its food. From locally grown vegetables/fruits to freshly caught fish, from copious curries to deep oil fried banana, there is something unique in their culinary.

Tasting the creole cuisines in the Seychelles is must. It is always a great pleasure to dine in any of the creole restaurant, the mixture of the food can be weird be is surely tasty and unique. You should taste traditional creole dishes such as ‘’Ladob, Fresh grilled fish, coconut fish curry and salted fish Rougay’’ when you hit the islands.

Seychelles is the richest islands in the Indian Ocean when it comes to fish. It is home to a countless number of fishes. People actually depends on fishing to survive, most civilians at the Seychelles islands catches fish and then sells them to the market in Victoria or by the side of the street. You will find a variety of food that you can buy and fortunately it is cheap.

Fresh Grilled Fish

The most popular way to have a very tasty grilled fish is to prepare it over the fire of a BBQ. But the Seychellois have a very simple and clever way to cook the perfect Grilled fish, they fired the fish by coconut husk which gives it an amazing aroma and the fish becomes tastier. The preparation of the fish is quick and easy. The fish needs to be slit down on one side where ingredients like garlic, ginger and chilli are stuffed in and then it is perfectly grilled and served. The best choice for making grilled fish is Barracuda.

Curry

There is many type of curries such as fish curry, chicken curry, octopus curry and many more. Most of the Seychellois are big fan of curry as it is a great part of their history. Back in times where there was no electricity, masala was the only preservative ingredient hence people would often eat curry. Long time ago the main ingredient was bat and goat but nowadays find these two ingredient is hardly found. You will most likely find chicken and fish curry on your plate these days.

The curry is also really simple to cook but you just need the right ingredient. The delicious dish is based on masala spices, coconut milk, hot chillies and of course your main ingredient whether it is fish, chicken or octopus. It will be a delightful moment if you try one of the Seychellois’s curry, especially if you are a fan of hot stuff.

Salted fish Rougay

The salted fish is the most popular dish in the whole Seychelles. People crave for it and many of the Seychellois eat the salted fish at least once a day. The salted fish is also known as ‘’pwason sale’’ by the locals. The invention of salted fish was again because of no electricity which means no refrigerator to preserve food. People found a way to overcome the heat and preserve food. Salted fish is literally fish and salt mix together and then set to dry in the hot sun.

Before starting to cook, the salted fish needs to be drained to take out the extra salt out otherwise it will be too salty and won’t taste delicious. If you are into anchovies then you will adore the salty fish as it taste both really salty and fishy. There are different ways to cook the salty fish but the best and most preferable way is the Rougay.The salted fish Rougay is an easily made dish which takes not more that 25-30 minutes. The Rougay is basically a mixture of tomato, chopped onions, ginger, garlic, chilli and salted fish. The Rougay can be served with both bread and rice but the Seychellois like it better with rice accompanied with lentils and pickles.

Breadfruit

Breadfruit is huge fruit which resembles a lot like potato. In fact it is exactly like a giant potato but taste differently. The breadfruit can be cooked, mashed, baked, or boil for soften. It can be cooked as dessert, snacks and even a dish. The best way to cook a breadfruit is to put the whole thing into the embers of your fire and coconut husk. Let it cook for at least 45 minutes, you will see the skin of the breadfruit charred, just crack it and take out the creamy white flesh of the fruit.

People long ago usually eat the breadfruit along with pork lard but nowadays the tradition have changed, the locals rather have it with some butter. You may also try the dessert version where coconut milk and sugar are added.

Banana dishes

The Seychelles is home to 23 different types of banana species. It varies from small sweet tasty bananas to giant ones. It is a key ingredient to a large number of local made dishes. The bananas can also be served as dessert as well as dishes and snacks. There most delicious dessert is the banann ladop. The banann ladop is made with coconut milk and sugar. The second favourite dessert is fried banana, the banana is cut and coat with sugar and butter. There is another version of fried banana which is served as snack, it is ripe banana cut into slices then fried in deep oil then coated with salt and sometime chilli powder. You should definetly try these banana dishes, you will be amazed!